Today we’d like to introduce you to Nemuel DePaula.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Nemuel. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a Brazilian art director and graphic designer; currently working with art books. I have always loved flowers, and my plan was to move away to a small town on the East Coast when I became older and sick of design to open a flower a shop and live a quiet life.
However, back in the summer of 2016, I did the florals for a friends wedding in Rhode Island, and it hit me – I can do it now and not have to wait. I came back to LA and immediately began working on a way to merge my design world with flowers. This, being such a food truck city I thought why not have a person walk up to the truck as you would to get tacos but get flowers instead?
I knew I had to take it a step further and bring these two worlds together and that was the birth of LENITA BY GRITA. The truck is named after my mother Lenita, and GRITA is my design studio located in the Arts District. I wanted to tribute her and all the women in my life. The blooms are all named after my aunts and sister to extend the tribute to them as well.
We began the process fall of 2016 and launched it on Mother’s Day, 2017. Since then, we’ve partnered with Urban Outfitter’s Space 15 Twenty creating a pop-up and installation, been to several neighborhoods featuring different artist such as jewelry from Eyde and ceramics from Yukari, all handmade here in Los Angeles.
We created a headpiece series for LENITA’s one year anniversary featuring friends and family who helped and continue to support this project. Some of these photos were recently shown at our most recent installation with Please Do Not Enter in Downtown Los Angeles. The truck pops up all over the city on Saturdays, and for Sundays, we’re based at Alchemy Works, located in our neighborhood.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s been a bumpy road! Launching a project like this has a million uncertainties. There is no guidebook for a flower truck therefore everything is new, everything is experimental, everything is trial and error, everything is a challenge.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the LENITA BY GRITA story. Tell us more about the business.
LENITA BY GRITA is Los Angeles’ first flower truck to merge art + design with ‘Flores’.
It’s a pop-up shop that offers seasonal blooms and design objects featuring local artists. I’m most proud of the community LENITA is slowly building.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the business and logistics of running a flower truck that you forget to say “we did it” – the customers, the featured artists, the locations we partner with are the true proud moments of this project and fuel LENITA.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think luck and hard work need to walk side by side. To me, luck comes in many ways and with this project I’ve been lucky to have an amazing group of friends and family to cheer me on. Its a blessing to have people around you believe in your vision and give their time, thoughts and encouragement.
Pricing:
- Blooms start at $25
- Art objects range from $45-$185
Contact Info:
- Website: lenitabygrita.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lenitabygrita/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lenitabygrita/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lenitabygrita
Image Credit:
Iris Ray/Urban Outfitters, GRITA
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